DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Notes: "Flat layer" in a flexible display typically refers to the flexible substrate or the encapsulation layer that, despite being part of a bendable device, remains flat and planar at the microscopic level to ensure functionality and prevent damage. Unlike rigid, brittle glass used in traditional displays, these layers are made from flexible polymers (such as polyimide) or thin, flexible metal foil, allowing the entire display to bend, fold, or roll.
laminating is a type of fabricating process, specifically a bonding or layering process where two or more materials (like fabrics, plastics, foams, or even wood/metal) are permanently joined using adhesives, heat, or pressure to create a single, stronger, composite material with enhanced properties, making it a core method within broader fabrication. While fabrication involves many steps (cutting, forming, assembling), lamination is a key technique for creating layered materials used in everything from car seats to kitchen countertops.
Claim Objections
Claims 3, 10, and 18 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Regarding claims 3, 10, and 18, the phrase of “comprising…second opening area” is not understood or unclear because:
Does applicant mean “the at least one bending area comprise a first bending area and a second bending area” and “the at least one opening comprises a first opening and a second opening”? Please, revise.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-2, 4-5, 8-9, 11-12, 15-17, and 19-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Wang et al. (U.S. 2021/0168929) hereafter Wang.
As to claim 1, Wang discloses a support composite plate (100), comprising:
at least one bending area (20) and non-bending areas (10), see figure 1, positioned on both sides of the bending area (20), and wherein the support composite plate (100), para-0043, further comprises:
a support layer (bottom metal layer 110, figure 8, or 110B, figure 9, para-0043+), wherein at least one opening (111) is defined on the support layer (110) and corresponds to the bending area (20);
a buffer layer (120, para-0043) disposed in the bending arca and filling the opening (111, para-0046); and
a hardened layer (top metal layer 110) disposed on the buffer layer (120);
wherein the buffer layer (120) overlaps at least a part of the support layer (110).
As to claim 2, Wang discloses edges of two ends of the buffer layer (120) are flush with edges of two ends of the support layer (110).
As to claim 4, Wang discloses the support layer (the bottom 110) comprises at least one protrusion (the groove or vertical wall to form the opening) extending toward the opening and disposed in the bending area (20).
As to claim 5, Wang further comprising an adhesive layer (a flat layer or encapsulation layer 300, the flat layer is made from flexible polymers, see note as above) disposed on one side of the hardened layer (the top 110) away from the support layer (the bottom 110), see figure 17.
As to claim 8, Wang discloses a manufacturing method of a support composite plate (100), wherein the support composite plate (100) comprises at least one bending area (20) and non-bending areas (10) positioned on both sides of the bending area (10), the method comprises following steps:
providing a support layer (the bottom 110) defined with at least one opening (recesses 111);
forming a buffer layer (120) on the support layer (110), wherein the buffer layer fills the opening (111) and overlaps at least a part of the support layer; and
forming a hardened layer (the top 110) on the buffer layer (120).
As to claim 9, Wang discloses edges of two ends of the buffer layer (120) are flush with edges of two ends of the support layer (the bottom 110).
As to claim 11, Wang discloses the support layer (the bottom 110) comprises at least one protrusion (the groove or vertical wall to form the opening) extending toward the opening and disposed in the bending area (20).
As to claim 12, Wang further comprising a following step: forming an adhesive layer (300) on one side of the hardened layer (the top 110) away from the support
layer (the bottom 110).
As to claim 15, Wang discloses the buffer layer (120) is composited with the support layer (110) by a hot-pressing process or a laminating process (the fabricating process).
As to claim 16, Wang discloses a display module (a display device, para-0020+), comprising
a support composite plate (100), a backplate (300) disposed on the support composite plate, and a display panel (200) disposed on the backplate;
wherein the support composite plate (100) comprises:
at least one bending area (20) and non-bending areas (10), see figure 1, positioned on both sides of the bending area (20), and wherein the support composite plate (100), para-0043, further comprises:
a support layer (bottom metal layer 110, figure 8, or 110B, figure 9, para-0043+), wherein at least one opening (111) is defined on the support layer (110) and corresponds to the bending area (20);
a buffer layer (120, para-0043) disposed in the bending arca and filling the opening (111, para-0046); and
a hardened layer (top metal layer 110) disposed on the buffer layer (120);
wherein the buffer layer (120) overlaps at least a part of the support layer (110).
As to claim 17, Wang discloses edges of two ends of the buffer layer (120) are flush with edges of two ends of the support layer (110).
As to claim 19, Wang discloses the support layer (the bottom 110) comprises at least one protrusion (the groove or vertical wall to form the opening) extending toward the opening and disposed in the bending area (20).
As to claim 20, Wang discloses the support composite plate (100) in figure 11 further comprises an adhesive layer (the second element 120) disposed on one side of the hardened layer (top 110) away from the support layer.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 6-7, 10, 13-14, and 18 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claims 3, 10, and 18 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the Claim Objections, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
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/TUAN T DINH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2848